Defying Destiny
by DawningAurora
Summary: Life with Tenten is the most beautiful, intricate of brocades. Woven with a hint of passion, a touch of mystery and yawn of apathy. Join Shikamaru as he discovers that –A single thread is enough to unravel even the most beautiful of handiworks.
1. The Konohan Ice Queen

**I don't own Naruto. I'm just the piped piper making the characters dance to my tune. This is somewhat like putting your toe beneath the shower testing the water. There will be more chapter. Updates will be irregular. Please bear with me.**

**Yes. Tenten's character varies drastically from the anime. But then that's what this story is about.**

**Many thanks to all my reviewers. Your reviews make my day. ;D**

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_**Chapter One- The Konohan Ice Queen.**_

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The crisp December air did little to mar the beauty of the night, the pristine white that shrouded every available surface-the leaves, the roofs, the street lamps, the very earth itself. The moon shone through full and imposing. And she stood stock still, drinking in the sight of him. Time had certainly been excessively generous to him. He had grown taller. There was a certain self assured lilt to his stride, the way he carried himself. A liquid grace that seemed to be embodied in the long leonine steps he took. The light hunch that had shadowed his steps since Asuma's death had vanished, leaving behind a spark. A spark that served to accentuate his pseudo-aristocratic features. Sensuality lurked in the fullness of his lips, the square set of his jaw. Time had darkened his irises into the ebony of an ethereal night. He stopped at the top of the staircase leading to the Hokage Tower he had ascended and turned to her.

"Tenten" a murmur, a breath that sounded more like a one word prayer than her name.

It had been years. She hadn't seen him in years and suddenly, here he was. It felt as though he had never left. She stepped back. She refused to fall into the same trap as before. She had been in love. It had been with the same variety- Tall, dark, brooding, brilliant. She had locked her heart away after _ him._ It had taken her weeks just to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart. Months to shed her fear of _feeling_. _He_ still hovered teasingly around the edges of her memory and now Shikamaru sought to take _his _place. Tenten was loathe to admit that he had partially succeeded. She did not know what she would have done without him in the first few days. She literally had not let go of him for days. She still remembered the feel of the rough cotton of his shirt against her cheek with a clarity only photographic memories afforded. She remembers feeling the warmth of his skin seep through the shirt, her tears and cutting through the haze of pain. She had not seen him since then. He was called away on an extended S-rank mission. A mission that required him to part with her for the entirety of two years.

But here he was now, standing before her, the epitome of everything she had craved for before. That was the crux of the issue. He was what she had craved_ before _he had left. Before she had painstakingly stitched the pieces of her heart together. Before he had abandoned her in her greatest time of need.

"Shikamaru" her tenor was cool, polite and utterly disinterested. "It has been a long time since I have seen you. Are you well?"

A languid smile stretched across his lips. "I am" He replied.

"It's late. I should probably be on my way. Good night" she replied as she turned briskly and walked away.

"Let me walk you home" he blurted.

She stopped and turned. A cold smile painted her features. "As one of the four ANBU Commanders I do not require an _escort_". Venom dripped from her clipped sentence.

Although taken aback, he said "As a friend I would like to make sure you reach home safely."

"I do not expect to be attacked within my own village. Rest easy Shikamaru. You can cast your worries aside." Her tone turned dismissive.

"I guess there's no easy way to get this done. Actually Tenten, my parents have gone to visit my aunt and I don't have the key with me" he rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, looking slightly abashed.

Tenten's shoulder heaved in what looked suspiciously like a silent sigh.

"You may rest within my home tonight."

"Thank you, Little Miss Sunshine"

"Pardon?"

"Nothing"

They walked in a not-very-companionable silence through the streets until they reached a nondescript apartment complex. She had changed. She walked with a straight, unyielding back. She moved silently, swiftly and in an on-red-alert kind of way. They ascended to the first floor and entered her flat.

"Leave your foot wear on the rack beside my shinobi sandals. Take the guest room on the right. You might want to wait a half hour for the heater to warm up for your bath. Sit on the wooden stool by the balcony wash your hands with the disinfectant by the sink before you touch anything." were the commandments she issued as she entered the room adjacent to the one she mentioned.

Half an hour later she found a lightly snoozing Shikamaru on the stool on which she bade him to sit. She cleared her throat loudly. He shot up, startled.

"The water should be ready by now. Bathe and rest. There is some food in the refrigerator if you're hungry." She spoke to the wall as she slid back the glass of the shelf containing her books and picked out a book. She disappeared into her bedroom.

Shikamaru walked to her book case, a tad curious as to whether her choice in books had changed. He found the usual eclectic mix of books-on baking, on weaponry, a few steamy looking romance novels, an encyclopedia, a few biographies, a chunky book on the art of wielding the Yuan*. The next few shelves held porcelain mugs with quirky quotes. He stopped. He saw the one he had given her for her graduation. He remembers what now feels like a different era.

So much had changed since then and he didn't know how or why.

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**So voila. That's chapter one. **

***Yuan belongs to me. And it's a weapon that can shift to over hundreds of different forms on charka application.**

_**-Aurora**_


	2. A Touch Of Destiny

Many thanks to my reviewers- **Inspirational Stars, AnimeFangirl95. DarkAnonymous, Anthropomorphichybrid, Jagged Jacket**

For both the wait and the inspiration to write more.

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_Dedicated to_ **morphy-chan.**

_For playing critic, agony aunt and tomodachi extraordinaire._

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The scene below was an epitome of serenity. Draped around a hill, Toyotomi Castle flushes silver under the caress of the night's full moon.. A lone female figure, standing under the cover of the apple orchard that ushered the way to the castle, clinically surveyed the landscape before her.

The pearlescent marble employed as a seating table was scattered throughout the cultured, pedicured woods. A thick,high stone wall, capable of withstanding sieges, lay before them; though the imposing air around the wall was exorcised by the easily scalable scattering of trees around the grounds. Thanking the providence of whichever god was listening; Tenten used the sudden diffusion of moonlight by the clouds to fly through the trees as swiftly and silently as her training allowed of her.

Winding her way up the most protective of branches of an Oak tree she waited for her team to be similarly situated while she surveyed the layout of the castle.

The outer walls towered over the comparatively diminutive Castle proper; a north facing turret, however, towered over a segment of the walk way where guards were interspersed infrequently around certain areas of the walk way. The entire air around the castle suggested a severe, though hushed up, disturbance within the castle. Tenten looked towards a walkway shadowed by the turret of the north wing of the castle. She waited for her cue. It took an estimated fifteen minutes before she heard the rustle of a kimono and looked up to see a woman approach the guard with a strangely familiar sway-and-saunter.

One of the guards approached her and said "Himiko-san, You aren't supposed to wander around here at this time of the night. Allow me to escort you downstairs,"

Quickly, Tenten pressed the radio masquerading as a velvet collar around her throat and relayed instructions to her team. Genma was to stay with Ino's body until she came back to herself. Shikamaru was to follow her into the castle proper.

At the guard's gentle admonishment, the woman in the exquisite midnight black kimono smiled angelically and incapacitated both the guards by taking needles to prominent charka points causing the guards to slump bonelessly to the floor. She raised her amber eyes at the quartet waiting in the trees and inclined her head slightly and swayed her way back into the door way that connected the walkway with the castle.

A passing cloudy blanket allowed Shikamaru and Tenten to swiftly descend upon the castle unnoticed. On entering they saw the woman waiting a flight of stairs down. The soft glow of the flames of the wall mounted, stone hewn TōRō danced across the room and illuminated the golden butterflies woven in the black kimono of the woman standing at the bottom a single flight of stairs.

"You must hurry. My lady is awaiting your arrival," She said, her lilting tenor hinting at a foreign heritage. The woman quickly led them through the castle hurrying through an enormous, ornate wooden door to a vulgarly ostentatious room; guiding them through an alcove and into a secret passage.

The passage was narrow, damp, dark and presumably new. Tenten deduced as much from the feel of the coolness of the stone and the imperceptibly irregular surface of the wall. _Fire proof_ her mind supplied. It was probably tunneled from an evacuation chamber. As she felt her way through the tunnel, she was acutely aware of Shikamaru shifting behind her. This brought a sense of comfort which warred with her hammered-in unease at having someone so close behind her. The path was serpentine, and branched often. Tenten squinted at her surroundings, hoping to discover the source of the woman's confidence in the path she led. Finding nothing, she closed her eyes on impulse and strained her ears. After nearly five minutes she heard an indiscernible twang of a taut string coming from the right. Their guide took the right fork of the path before them.

They walked for a few more minutes before Tenten noticed the increasing warmth of the passage way. The woman before them halted and moved to the left feeling the walls intently; on reaching a particular stone she pushed the stone, causing the door before them to open.

Tenten felt glad for the porcelain Noh mask that hid her face as she closed her eyes against the sudden onslaught of the bright neon. Slowly she allowed her pupils to adjust to the lighting.

"Welcome shinobi," came an unfamiliar dulcet tenor from her right. She found her guide kneeling by the foot of a chaise lounge where a majestic red-head reclined. Handing her wine glass to their servile guide, she rose and sat facing them.

"Would you perhaps, rest a few moments before you set off on your mission," she spoke with a seductive smile at Shikamaru "Your subordinate is welcome to the respite too,"

her smile darkened when she looked at Tenten.

"Your offer is much too kind, Lady Kikyo. We have much to accomplish and the night is aging quickly. My _subordinate_-" Tenten caught Kikyo's eye and threw a look at Shikamaru "thanks you for your kindness. Could you extend your kindness enough to tell us what the mission entails?"

Kikyo's smile widened tauntingly. "Of course," She affected a heaving sigh "If only all women were as duty oriented as you,"

"Indeed, if only," Tenten said, the frigid civility marred slightly by the clipped intonation.

"Sit down." Kikyo commanded imperiously, unamused by Tenten's insinuation.

"As before Lady Kikyo, we have much to accomplish and very little time to do so. It would prove to be helpful if you could merely give us the directions." Tenten struggled to maintain her composure in the face of the childish antics of this woman. It normally wouldn't irk her so much. Then why was she so worked up?

"I will tell you a story and you must tell me its ending." Kikyo began in a sing-song voice "Once upon a time there was a beautiful kingdom by the name Loulan. It rested on a land seven seas and seven mountain passes from here. And nestled within this magnificent Kingdom was a castle. And in that castle lived a king and a queen. They had one thing they cherished above all others. A beautiful baby girl. Now it so happened that this beautiful little girl was a very sick child. The royal physician told her that she would live only until she turned seventeen if the medicine to ailment, a sapphire orchid that bloomed once in 22 years was freshly plucked, powdered and turned to paste and fed to the ailing princess. And so the king sent out legions upon legions of his men to search for the sapphire orchid that could cure his beloved baby girl, all to no avail. In his desperation he offered the princesses hand in marriage as well as the land of Loulan to whoever could bring him the orchid.

Now this little girl, fragile she was of physical form but possessed a brilliant mind and a stout heart. Tired of being coddled and confined within her gilded cage, she paddled off to the garden after inducing her nurse to sleep. There she met her very first play mate, a boy who was whistling as he watered the flowers favoured by the queen. The girl picked up on the lullaby and began to attempt to whistle. On hearing her attempts, the boy took it upon himself to teach her how to whistle. They soon became fast friends. He taught her about the worlds underwater, the magic of a rainbow and the mysteries of the heavens. She in turn told him of the strange worlds that lay beyond their home, the people and the lives they led. When evening fell, the entire castle was in uproar over the lost princess and the two had become inseparable. The two parted with a promise to meet again the following afternoon before she surrendered herself to the castle. Days turned to weeks and weeks to years and their friendship remained. Three months before she turned seventeen she began to waste away. Seeing her wither away caused him to resolve to find the orchid. He set off and a week before the princess turned seventeen, he found what he sought in the stores of the royal physician in the court of Toyotomi Ichiro. He pleaded with the General. He offered to even forfeit his own life if the General would offer but three petals of the sapphire orchid. The curiosity of the General could not be contained, he plied the young man with the best of his wines and pried the secret of the Orchid from him.

Beguiled by the promise of the princess and her kingdom, the General ordered a bouquet of the finest of Orchids to be brought. He also ordered the assassination of the man who brought him this news to cover up his treachery. A hard day's ride later, he brought the orchid to the court of the Loulan king. The princess was cured within a week. She recovered slowly, pining for her best friend and the promise yet to be fulfilled. She recovered completely in a year. The engagement took place a year later and a month later they were wed.

The princess moved to her husband's home and tried to make do with what she had. She managed admirably for five years. What happened then, you might ask. I'll tell you. The princess overheard a conversation between the General's most trusted of men, making light of the _young fool_ and his princess." Kikyo now took a long draught of her wine. "Now then Shinobi, tell me, what is the inevitable ending of this sordid tale?"

"It would be arrogant on our parts to assume what the General's punishment should be, Lady Kikyo" Tenten ventured cautiously.

That drew a bitter smile from the woman. Quickly masking her discomfort she commanded "Dismember him and lay his carcass in one of the caves by the sea, traitorous worms do not deserve a burial afforded to the patriots of this land."

Although Tenten could understand her motivations, her code of conduct would not allow her to sympathize with the woman. "And what of the path to the chamber Lady Kikyo?"

"Follow the gold inlaid cloudy vulgarity from outside the wall to my husband's chamber." She dismissed them with a wine glass salute and a coy look in Shikamaru's direction.

Without a backward glance Tenten strode outside the room. Soft, light footsteps followed unhesitatingly behind her.

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**A|N Sorry for the delay... Let me know what you think regardless of content.**


	3. Escape

**It's been *counts* over two months since posted an update so as a thank you for the long wait, there is a ShikaTen (BRAVEhEART) that I've posted and also a NejiTen so head over there and treat yourself to some well deserved stories...Also keep an eye out for one more ShikaTen coming soon. :)**

**So without further ado I present-**

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_**Chapter Three**_

_**Escape  
**_

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The pattern of swirling golden clouds on the wall led through a corridor, a steep staircase and several huge rooms. The largest of which housed the master bedroom. Tenten felt a slight tingling of her intuition as she stood before the artfully hand carved door and slid it open.

The sight that met her was enough to make her feel glad of the porcelain Noh mask. Instead of the sleeping General she had expected she met a battalion of two dozen men. It was enough to allow a small measure of unease to escape her composed features which reminded her of the first lesson that Ibiki drilled into everyone's heads immediately after recruitment. _Never show your fear._

Sitting in a chaise that also doubled as a throne, with black hair, cold blue eyes and a mocking smile, was the General. By his knee, a fifteen year old sat cross legged on the floor, playing with a battered stuffed dog.

"Welcome Konohan Shinobi," he greeted, mirroring his wife's tone.

Walking into the room dispassionately, Tenten inclined her head in acknowledgement of his excellent spy network. The matter will have to be addressed by the Hokage. The threat of a spy so highly ranked would be a formidable threat one day. Especially since this was a classified ANBU mission.

"To what do I owe the dubious pleasure of your company tonight?" he continued politely, ignoring Tenten's gaze.

"Certainly you know why I am here General, especially considering your Spy Master's information gathering skill," Tenten's voice held a note of petulance and mockery.

The girl by the General's feet looked up holding Tenten's gaze with her own slightly luminescent blue ones. Tenten fought the urge to flash a feral grin.

"Well then, shall we get down to business?" he returned, apparently unruffled by her slight.

At his words, three of his best men stood before them, their serene smiles belying the bloodlust that saturated the air between them. The black haired male in the center, the leader apparently, sent a chilling smile in her direction. But the blond and the brunette at his sides simply looked bored by the entire process.

And suddenly without warning, the presumed leader's image blurred and she felt the back of her neck tingle in warning and reacting swiftly she swerved to the right and jumped three feet away and turned back to find the leader had shoved a kunai the place where the base of her spine would have been.

He turned towards her and smiled in mock civility as he moved again. This time Tenten was prepared, the kunai came at her sideways, aiming for her throat. She drew her own kunai and blocked it, their blades wavering slightly between them and he drew back, his movements too fast to follow.

A puff of smoke from the corner of her eyes caused her to note that both Genma and Shikamaru had formed a barrier between Ino's body and the mercenaries. If they held fast to their positions it would drastically minimize their ability to defend themselves. The only chance she had of defeating them was if she drew them out towards an open place. Genma caught her eye and nodded in understanding. The barrage of weapons thrown in her direction by the black haired male were halted with a few well placed kunai that pinned them to the walls. She slid into Genma's place and took on his opponent while he hefted Ino and ran towards the window as Tenten and Shikamaru brought up his rear.

"Go," she instructed Shikamaru as she dealt with the massive fuuma shuriken being sent her way.

"After you" he replied while using a variation of his Kage Mane to hold them all still.

A narrow eyed gaze at Shikamaru revealed the stubborn set of his mouth. '_It wouldn't do any good to argue with him right now'_ was her thought and without realizing intuitive touch of the knowledge, she made a mental note to speak to him about it later as she gracefully leapt below.

Shikamaru breathed a small sigh of relief at the fact that she didn't argue and mentally braced himself for the sure-to-come talking to. Binding the men's' shadow to the wire strung trench knife he inherited from Asuma, he leapt from the building and drew a safe distance away before dispelling his technique.

...

Watching the procession with critical eyes, the girl rose from her father's knee-side and moved to the window to watch their movement

"How long do you think they would survive, love?" he asked her, patting the space by his side in his chaise.

Turning from the window she walked back to the place he designated, she sat and rested her head on his shoulder. The war-roughened hands combed through her hair. She shifted slightly, small hands reached up as though to press her palm to his cheek. Instead she clamped a firm, bony hand over his nose and mouth and in a swift brutal motion she tore the hilt of her short sword hidden in the doll and plunged it into his gut.

Watching as the signs of life faded from his eyes, she slowly formed the signs of a transportation jutsu, drawing charka reserved in a pale pink stone. After seeing to Lady Kikyo's wishes she returned to her bed chamber and slumped to the floor in an unconscious heap. When she woke, she would remember nothing of what had come to pass since early that evening.

...

A few kilometers away, Ino woke with a start. In a voice carefully devoid of emotion, she reported to Tenten "It is done."

Tenten nodded once in her direction in acknowledgement. They started moving again in complete silence. As they approached the border, a certain nagging feeling rose within her. She called for a complete halt. She felt an implacable sense of dread settle into the pit of her stomach. She scanned the forest, searching for charka signatures. There were none.

There was a strong scent of a storm incoming from the south. The predawn skies darkened back into midnight black. There was a terrifying silence in the forests surrounding them. It was too quiet. It was like the animals themselves were cowering from whatever was coming for them. There was an implacable sense of dread settling into the pit of Tenten's stomach. She called her platoon to a stop. Shikamaru took one look at the coiled tension in her limbs and the unconscious swathe of swirling silver chakra surrounding her and asked to organize a single file formation. Quickly Genma took the lead as he was skilled in close range combat, Ino followed. Shikamaru fell into step behind her as Tenten took the rear as was her wont. She ordered the redistribution of rations and water canteens as well as to pick up their pace so as to cut their travelling time in half. Something about this place was giving her the creeps and she was not about to discount the storm warning the forest gave.

They were half way to the border before Tenten began to feel like the forest was following her. Ino would have sensed and warned them if enemy nin were stalking them. Feeling utterly ridiculous, she probed with her chakra. There was nothing there. Not even the pulsing chakra of the trees or the harum-scarum tell-tale chakra signature that is normally present in scared or smaller animals.

_You are feeling with the wrong senses, my dear. _

Tenten faltered a step and her chakra flared to a near brilliant flame before she quickly regained her footing and tempered her chakra. The sense of dread solidified into icy fear as the voice that had stayed dormant and ignored in the last decade surfaced again. It was a ruthless reminder and a sure-fire way of knowing something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

Ino gave a quick peripheral once over and also what was certainly a quirked a brow in her direction. Tenten gave her a Gai-sensei approved thumbs up and non verbally threatened Ino with more Gai-sensei approved antics. Ino backpedalled immediately and turned her whole attention to the surroundings. Shikamaru's concerned looks were studiously ignored and Genma did not bother to acknowledge Tenten's impromptu panic attack with little more than a perfunctory chakra probe.

She went over all the breathing exercises that her instructors, konohan and otherwise, drummed into her since she was three. Slowly steadying her racing heart rate, she blanked her mind. Each breath was in tempo with her heart beat as she slipped slowly, steadily into the instinctive semi subconscious state that came with the breathing exercises.

The scent of the storm grew stronger and began to saturate the very air with its heaviness. The rain-when it came-was cold and fell like little liquid kunai. The branches beneath them turned slippery and treacherous. Tenten bit back an uncharacteristic litany of fluent, colourful curses (in exotic languages too but that's a pointless digression). Slippery terrain meant expending battle-reserves of their chakra which meant that they would have to take chakra supplements which in turn led to a hospital trip that could seriously impede her plans for contacting her only source of knowledge when it came to the crazy voice in her head. Her Uncle.

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**To be Continued**

**So how was chapter 3?**

**-Aurora  
**


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